Facebook: here are Messenger Rooms, new services for group video calls
2020-04-24T19:13:31.180Z
Facebook products have always been designed to connect people. In the last period there has been a growing demand for real-time videos on Facebook. The video calls on Messenger and WhatsApp have in fact more than doubled in the countries most affected by Covid-19, such as Italy, even the Live on Facebook and Instagram have increased exponentially. To help people feel united, even when they are - or must be - physically separate, Facebook today announces new features that make video calls and live videos simpler and more functional. Messenger Rooms arrives Stan Chudnovsky, the chief of Messenger, writes in a post: "Today we announce Messenger Rooms, a group video calling service that allows you to spend quality time with friends, family and people with whom you share interests. It is possible create a virtual room directly from Messenger or Facebook and invite anyone to join, even those without a Facebook account. The rooms have no time limits and will soon be able to host up to 50 people ". To celebrate an event, organize a reading group or simply to chat with friends, you will no longer need to call first or make an appointment on the calendar, simply open a room on Facebook and share it through your wall, Groups or Events, to allow people to drop by. It will soon be possible to open a room from Instagram Direct, WhatsApp and Portal. When you are invited to a room, you can access it both from your smartphone and from your computer, without having to download anything. Atmosphere light backgrounds and filters made with Artificial Intelligence In addition to the augmented reality effects available from the Messenger app, such as bunny ears and aliens, Facebook is introducing new artificial intelligence effects to update the video chats of Messenger from mobile, as 360-degree and immersive wallpapers that take you to iconic places, from the beach to a luxury apartment on the water. There are 14 new filters that offer ambient lighting for space or to illuminate the face. They are also adding new Augmented Reality effects, to celebrate birthdays or make virtual camping with friends while staying at home. Designed to guarantee Privacy and Security Messenger Rooms is designed with privacy and security at the top: Facebook does not see or listen to calls. The person who creates the room can choose who can see it and who can participate, must be present to start the conversation and can remove guests at any time. Messenger Rooms is available for testing in Italy as early as this week and will be extended to the rest of the world in the coming weeks. In addition, new features will be added in the coming months. Group video calls on WhatsApp are expanding Video calls on WhatsApp are another way to stay in touch and overcome distances. It will soon be possible to include up to 8 people in group calls and videos on WhatsApp. Just like before, security is guaranteed by end-to-end encryption, so that no one can listen to or read private conversations, not even WhatsApp. New features for Live Videos on Facebook and Instagram People are already using Live on Facebook and Instagram to do fitness, cooking classes, celebrate religious functions and much more. For this, Facebook has decided to make these tools even more useful by adding new features. “Live With” returns to Facebook to add another person to their live video, regardless of where they are. Useful for guests, interviews with experts or performances with friends. You can mark Facebook Events as "online only" and, in the coming weeks, integrate Live into the Events. To support creators and small businesses, the Social Network plans to add the option for Pages to request paid access to attend Live events on Facebook. It can be valid for anything: online performances, lessons or professional meetings. To facilitate fundraising, it is possible to add the "donate" button directly to Live, available in all countries where it is possible to make fundraisers in support of non-profit organizations. Access to live videos has been simplified. Limits of data or unstable connections will not be a problem because it will be possible to listen to even audio. You can start the livestream of a game directly on Facebook from your smartphone, thanks to the new Facebook Gaming app available on Google Play. The app allows you to start playing immediately, watch your favorite streamers and discover new gaming Groups. Tournaments are another new feature for game streaming on Facebook that allows you to start, play and watch challenges from one place. To support its favorite creators, Facebook has decided to expand Stars to more Pages and Countries. Once purchased, the Stars can be sent to the creators while they are playing live; they will thus be able to earn 1 cent for each star. On Instagram you can watch and comment on live videos directly from the desktop. Take yoga classes on a larger screen, for example, or listen to a live performance while working. After starting the live broadcast, you can immediately save your videos on IGTV so that they remain available beyond the 24-hour limit of the Stories and are easier to find. On Portal it will be possible to start live on Groups and Facebook Pages also from Portal. The Facebook Live app on Portal already allows you to broadcast live on your profile, but within this month you can also do it with your communities, taking full advantage of the Portal smart camera and its Artificial Intelligence tools. Privacy and Messenger Rooms Facebook has designed Rooms with great attention to privacy and control of its experience, says Erin Egan, Facebook's head of Privacy. But what are the controls and options available? You can open a room from Messenger or Facebook and, very soon, you can also do it from Instagram, WhatsApp and Portal. Who creates the room also controls who can participate, who can enter, how to find it and whether or not to activate the access link. The default privacy settings have been designed to be consistent with what is expected when you create a Room, such as when you post something about a Group compared to when you chat privately on Messenger. Here are the tools: Locking: Rooms can be closed or open when the call begins. If a room is closed, no one can access it, except for a group administrator if the rooms are created through a group. Removing a participant: those who create a room can remove any unwanted participants. If he does or if he leaves the call, the room closes automatically and only this person can reopen the call so that others can connect. Abandon: if at any time it doesn't feel safe inside a room, you can abandon it. The fact that the room is closed does not force anyone to stay. Reporting: it is possible to report a Room or someone who is believed to violate the Facebook Community Standards. It is important to know that the report does not include room audio or video. Block: it is possible to block someone we don't like both on Facebook and Messenger without being informed. When this person accesses Facebook, they will not be able to enter a room created by the person who blocked it and vice versa. Whether you use Rooms from your Facebook account or participate as a guest, Facebook will not see or listen to conversations. When joining a room as a guest without being logged in to Facebook, only the name will be asked, which will be shown to allow the owner of the room and his guests to identify the participants. Like other websites, Facebook receives logging data such as the type of device with which you connect or the IP address and uses them essentially to guarantee the best user experience of Rooms and to keep the environment safe. In addition, the Facebook security team was involved in making the links of Rooms difficult to detect by hackers. The links to the Rooms show a string of random characters and digits, with numbers and letters. This makes it difficult for hackers to guess the exact combination of characters and every time a Room is created a new link is generated. What impact does Rooms have on data collection and advertising? Neither audio nor video are used to serve advertisements. Rooms is based on Messenger and therefore uses the same technology to encrypt a video and audio conversation as it transits from people's devices to Facebook servers, located in countries that have strict laws on the matter. Rooms does not use end-to-end encryption. There are technical limitations in the use of end-to-end encryption for video calls with more than 50 participants, but Facebook is working to introduce end-to-end encryption on Messenger and also for Messenger Rooms.
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April 24, 2020 Facebook products have always been designed to connect people. In the last period there has been a growing demand for real-time videos on Facebook. The video calls on Messenger and WhatsApp have in fact more than doubled in the countries most affected by Covid-19, such as Italy, even the Live on Facebook and Instagram have increased exponentially. To help people feel united, even when they are - or must be - physically separate, Facebook today announces new features that make video calls and live videos simpler and more functional. Messenger Rooms arrives Stan Chudnovsky, the chief of Messenger, writes in a post: "Today we announce Messenger Rooms, a group video calling service that allows you to spend quality time with friends, family and people with whom you share interests. It is possible create a virtual room directly from Messenger or Facebook and invite anyone to join, even those without a Facebook account. The rooms have no time limits and will soon be able to host up to 50 people ". To celebrate an event, organize a reading group or simply to chat with friends, you will no longer need to call first or make an appointment on the calendar, simply open a room on Facebook and share it through your wall, Groups or Events, to allow people to drop by. It will soon be possible to open a room from Instagram Direct, WhatsApp and Portal. When you are invited to a room, you can access it both from your smartphone and from your computer, without having to download anything. Atmosphere light backgrounds and filters made with Artificial Intelligence In addition to the augmented reality effects available from the Messenger app, such as bunny ears and aliens, Facebook is introducing new artificial intelligence effects to update the video chats of Messenger from mobile, as 360-degree and immersive wallpapers that take you to iconic places, from the beach to a luxury apartment on the water. There are 14 new filters that offer ambient lighting for space or to illuminate the face. They are also adding new Augmented Reality effects, to celebrate birthdays or make virtual camping with friends while staying at home. Designed to guarantee Privacy and Security Messenger Rooms is designed with privacy and security at the top: Facebook does not see or listen to calls. The person who creates the room can choose who can see it and who can participate, must be present to start the conversation and can remove guests at any time. Messenger Rooms is available for testing in Italy as early as this week and will be extended to the rest of the world in the coming weeks. In addition, new features will be added in the coming months. Group video calls on WhatsApp are expanding Video calls on WhatsApp are another way to stay in touch and overcome distances. It will soon be possible to include up to 8 people in group calls and videos on WhatsApp. Just like before, security is guaranteed by end-to-end encryption, so that no one can listen to or read private conversations, not even WhatsApp. New features for Live Videos on Facebook and Instagram People are already using Live on Facebook and Instagram to do fitness, cooking classes, celebrate religious functions and much more. For this, Facebook has decided to make these tools even more useful by adding new features. On Facebook warns on "Live With" to add another person to your live video, no matter where he is. Useful for guests, interviews with experts or performances with friends. You can mark Facebook Events as "online only" and, in the coming weeks, integrate Live into the Events. To support creators and small businesses, the Social Network plans to add the option for Pages to request paid access to attend Live events on Facebook. It can be valid for anything: online performances, lessons or professional meetings. To facilitate fundraising, it is possible to add the "donate" button directly to Live, available in all countries where it is possible to make fundraisers in support of non-profit organizations. Access to live videos has been simplified. Limits of data or unstable connections will not be a problem because it will be possible to listen to even audio. You can start the livestream of a game directly on Facebook from your smartphone, thanks to the new Facebook Gaming app available on Google Play. The app allows you to start playing immediately, watch your favorite streamers and discover new gaming Groups. Tournaments are another new feature for game streaming on Facebook that allows you to start, play and watch challenges from one place. To support its favorite creators, Facebook has decided to expand Stars to more Pages and Countries. Once purchased, the Stars can be sent to the creators while they are playing live; they will thus be able to earn 1 cent for each star. On Instagram you can watch and comment on live videos directly from the desktop. Take yoga classes on a larger screen, for example, or listen to a live performance while working. After starting the live broadcast, you can immediately save your videos on IGTV so that they remain available beyond the 24-hour limit of the Stories and are easier to find. On Portal it will be possible to start live on Groups and Facebook Pages also from Portal. The Facebook Live app on Portal already allows you to broadcast live on your profile, but within this month you can also do it with your communities, taking full advantage of the Portal smart camera and its Artificial Intelligence tools. Privacy and Messenger Rooms Facebook has designed Rooms with great attention to privacy and control of its experience, says Erin Egan, Facebook's head of Privacy. But what are the controls and options available? You can open a room from Messenger or Facebook and, very soon, you can also do it from Instagram, WhatsApp and Portal. Who creates the room also controls who can participate, who can enter, how to find it and whether or not to activate the access link. The default privacy settings have been designed to be consistent with what is expected when you create a Room, such as when you post something about a Group compared to when you chat privately on Messenger. Here are the tools: Locking: Rooms can be closed or open when the call begins. If a room is closed, no one can access it, except for a group administrator if the rooms are created through a group. Removing a participant: those who create a room can remove any unwanted participants. If he does or if he leaves the call, the room closes automatically and only this person can reopen the call so that others can connect. Abandon: if at any time it doesn't feel safe inside a room, you can abandon it. The fact that the room is closed does not force anyone to stay. Reporting: it is possible to report a Room or someone who is believed to violate the Facebook Community Standards. It is important to know that the report does not include room audio or video. Block: it is possible to block someone we don't like both on Facebook and Messenger without being informed. When this person accesses Facebook, they will not be able to enter a room created by the person who blocked it and vice versa. Whether you use Rooms from your Facebook account or participate as a guest, Facebook will not see or listen to conversations. When joining a room as a guest without being logged in to Facebook, only the name will be asked, which will be shown to allow the owner of the room and his guests to identify the participants. Like other websites, Facebook receives logging data such as the type of device with which you connect or the IP address and uses them essentially to guarantee the best user experience of Rooms and keep the environment safe. In addition, the Facebook security team was involved in making the links of Rooms difficult to detect by hackers. The links to the Rooms show a string of random characters and digits, with numbers and letters. This makes it difficult for hackers to guess the exact combination of characters and every time a Room is created a new link is generated. What impact does Rooms have on data collection and advertising? Neither audio nor video are used to serve advertisements. Rooms is based on Messenger and therefore uses the same technology to encrypt a video and audio conversation as it transits from people's devices to Facebook servers, located in countries that have strict laws on the matter. Rooms does not use end-to-end encryption. There are technical limitations in the use of end-to-end encryption for video calls with more than 50 participants, but Facebook is working to introduce end-to-end encryption on Messenger and also for Messenger Rooms.
